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Okay, this has been long coming. With all the recent news in the media about the ‘Day Zero exploits’ in java have driven tons of people away. As a java developer, I’d like to clear up some of the hype and rumor surrounding these, and help people understand what’s really going on.

1. The Day-Zero exploits are applet java only – all desktop versions are completely safe and as long as the software isn’t an applet in a web browser it won’t be vulnerable to them. (yes, your precious minecraft won’t ruin your computer.)

2. Issues like this are nothing new, the media is just making news about them now. Honestly, I would recommend not using applets online, since they can often be harmful. Google chrome and Firefox both have the user manually accept the applet, while IE does absolutely nothing. Again with microsoft’s browser being a vector for awful malware… Anyway, Apple’s Safari just flat-out disables java applets. I would personally recommend using chrome or firefox, whichever you prefer. (I won’t be getting into this argument, that’s neither here nor there) this way, you can be much more at ease than before.

Anyway, that’s all for now… Hopefully i’ll have some actual news on my game soon.

I’m not sure how to set up certain classes to be well-balanced within the game. I know what I want each class to function like and I have already decided for some, but I need suggestions on the others. So far, this is what I know I want:

Water: A class based around defense, water should be able to support teammates, making them extremely powerful, while weak without team support. Capable of putting out fire on teammates and also laying down slippery paths to knock over enemy players traveling too fast. Strong against metal, weak to blaze.

Fire: a class based on offense, fire is very good at getting attention and causing havoc. He can support himself but can also be easy to take out if found alone. Capable of setting enemies on fire, causing lingering health loss over time. Strong against plant, weak to fog.

Earth: a staple of defense, earth is the second-slowest class in the game. He does insane damage at close range and can mow down an entire team, but can be taken out if caught by surprise. His weapons can’t fire immediately and require some form of preparation before firing. Strong against lightning but weak to ice.

Air: another offensive class who relies on himself, air is the fastest class in the game, which he needs in order to survive. With the lowest starting health, air needs to get in the battle while his teammates distract the other team in order to make him most effective. He operates very well at close range but does pitiful damage outside of that. (shotgun-like primary, already chosen) weak to lava, strong against mud.

Blaze: a hybrid of fire and air, blaze is capable of absolutely decimating the enemy team, with one large downside: he damages himself to deal damage, although not as much as he does to the enemy players. This encourages a more conservative play-style despite his aggressive attacks.
Weak to water, strong against lava.

Lightning: an odd hybrid class, lightning doesn’t instantly deal damage. Rather, he has attacks that help his team by slowing enemies and causing damage-over-time with his weaponry. The danger is he has no way to quickly dispatch of his enemies when faced by a strong enemy such as earth or lava. Weak to earth, strong against ice.

Lava: a damage-dealer, lava has attacks that deal large amounts of explosive damage to enemies that wander nearby. He can do damage to himself, but he can easily stay out of his own fire and use it as a variety of transportation. Weak to mud, strong against air.

Metal: he’s bigger, he’s stronger, and he’s painfully slow! He is the slowest class in the game but with different forms of help from teammates can get to the front lines and deal some serious damage! Weak to blaze, strong against water.

Plant: a strange hybrid, he is capable of supporting teammates without doing immense amounts of damage himself: he is capable of supplying buffs to his teammates allowing them to do more damage, after building up his abilities. Strong against fog, weak to fire.

Mud: not quite sure what to do with him. Open to suggestions. Weak to air, strong against lava.

Ice: he may be a hybrid of water and air, but he behaves like a heavier class: he has a high damage output and can provide easy transportation for their team. Strong against earth, weak to lightning.

Fog: a master of espionage, fog can turn invisible at will and even attack with their daggers while invisible! Don’t worry, they can’t shoot or use special abilities while invisible and can be bumped in to while invisible, so don’t be discouraged! Weak to plant, strong against fire.

I have a basic goal for the game: a multiplayer, side-scrolling team-based shooter using the classical greek elements as the bases of the classes. I hope to implement Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and 8 combination classes, making 12 unique classes with completely different roles. Different classes will excel at certain things (Air classes are very good at causing disruption, for example) while others are much better for different situations (Earth can easily decimate a team, but he needs to be prepared for it). Making each class have weaknesses creates a form of elemental ‘rock, paper, scissors’, with each class having strength against one while being dependent on the team for defense from others. This help create a teamwork-dependent environment where the team that works together can overpower a team where players are extremely skillful, but refuse to work together.

Hello and welcome! This is where I will be tracking development of mynow videogame called War of the Elements. hope that you will enjoy watchingthe game expand from simple concepts to a fully playable game, and you can help! I will read comments regularly and will often use ideas I see on this site! Hope you will all be interested enough to stay and submit your own ideas to the project!